my left, into the house, I stood petrified white striped curtains of my mother's with astonishment. "Yes," said my sis-spinning, and the bed on which she reposed ter-in-law, with an air of triumph, "I knew I should surprise you. There have been great improvements made since you were here; the old lumber is all gone into the kitchen, or into the fire."

during her married life and her widowhood: but I reckoned without my hostess; for she had sent the bed up stairs for the accommodation of the maids. The plaster floor was covered with a carpet ; the whitewashed walls were covered with paper; the tables and chairs were of mahogany; the valences of the window-curtains hung in graceful drapery; and my sister asked me if I did not admire the bow-window.

True it was; I could recognize nothing but the windows and the clock. The dresser and the pewter had given way to prints, framed and glazed; the ancient chairs and tables were exchanged for modern; and the bright grate, with its knobs Sick at the sight of the altered dwelling as large as warming-pans, had been dis- of my ancestors, I retired early. I was missed for a Bath stove. "And, pray," || shewn into the chamber built by my grandsaid I, "where are the polished brazen || mother, where I found a bed with handtongs and fire-shovel, which hung in the chimney-corner, and had no other business in the house, than to be looked at and admired?" "I have sent them into the kitchen," replied my sister-in-law, "because they were not fit to be seen."

I made no farther inquiries after the fate of my old domestic acquaintances; but, directing my thoughts towards present times, I do not see my nephews and nieces," said I; "I hope they are well."

some chintz furniture: I lay down on it, and I found it damp. This determined me. I had intended to revisit the scenes of my childhood and youth, and to shake hands with such of my neighbours as remained on the spot: but, rising early from || my blankets, and not deigning to look at the hunting-pieces which had usurped the place of the twelve apostles, I contented myself with a walk in the garden and orchard.

"Quite well, at the last vacation," ans- In the orchard I viewed the fabrics wered my sister-in-law. "Louisa and raised by three generations; magnificent Caroline are at boarding-school at Not- walnut trees planted by my grandfather, tingham; Edwin, who is intended for the || flourishing apple and pear trees planted by law, is at school at Wirksworth; and my father, and cherry and Siberian crab Frederick is apprenticed to an eminent trees by my brother. In the garden I looksurgeon and apothecary at Bakewell." || ed diligently for my mother's flowers, but Here again was improvement; for the could find no traces of them; and the bees family baptismal names, hitherto, had not had disappeared, with the sweets on which reached higher than John and Sarah, Wil- they fed. liam and Mary, Thomas and Elizabeth; nor had the education of an individual extended farther than the parish clerk, and the village schoolmistress.

At breakfast I declared my intention of quitting the village; and neither the intreaties of my brother, nor the civilities of my sister-in-law, could detain me.

I waited two hours for an ill-dressed My brother did not long survive our dinner, without having been offered any parting. Not having the same taste for refreshment; my sister-in-law being en-improvement as his wife, and not having gaged in trimming the cap, and adjusting the resolution to contradict or control the treble flounces of the white dress, in her, he drank rather more freely of his which she afterwards appeared at dinner. own ale than was consistent with the When we rose from table, she proposed patriarchal age attained by his ancestors. our going into "the other room," and led After the death of her husband, my sisterthe way to what had been the bedchamber in-law let the farm, and took up her resiof my father and mother. At last, thought dence in the market town; and the hall, as I, my passion for old times will be grati-well as the farm-house, is now occupied by fied, for I reckoned on seeing the blue-and- a stranger.

66

Yoho, tra la la! &c."

THE spirited chorus in the opera of Der || men, when, much to my surprise and deFreischütz, with its accompaniment, of light, I heard a song, not from a bird, but forest, scenery, the deep green-wood, the the voices of men bursting upon my ear in rugged rocks and gushing waters, brought one grand swell, then dying away in soft recollections to my mind fraught with the cadences, and in another instant making wild romance of the northern nations, and the distant echoes ring with the minstrelforcibly reminded me of a pleasant adven- strain. Guided by the sound, I urged my ture which occurred to me in a hasty jour- way through winding alleys, and came at ney through Sweden. My carriage had once upon the party, a jovial band of hunbroken down at the entrance of a forest; ters lying idly upon the green-sward, under many hours were necessary for its repair, a fir-crowned pile of rocks, and close to a ere it could be again rendered serviceable; fountain which welled at their feet. An and, having received such directions as I abundant supply of bread, meat, and wine was thought would enable me to reach the next spread upon the grass, and they were chantpost, I walked forward alone. The scene ing the Jager-lied (hunting song) with that was to me equally new, strange, and beau- exquisite native melody which is so astotiful; the woody labyrinth appeared to be nishing and fascinating to an Englishman's interminable; but here and there a green ear, accustomed to the unmusical voices of glade interposed to give it variety, whilst his own countrymen. I met with a hearty the inequalities of the ground, the upland welcome from the sylvan wassailers, stretchpaths and deep ravines, the scattered trees ed my limbs upon the green-sward beside and close thickets, presented so many en- them, appeased the cravings of appetite, chanting combinations, that, wholly lost and then luxuriated in the exquisite senin admiration, I wandered from spot to sations which the scene, the season, and spot completely at random, and entangled the hour produced. The striking attitudes, myself at every step still deeper in the costumes, and countenances of my commazes of the wild. panions, the delicious repose of the glen, broken only by the chirping of birds, the humming of insects, and, then the fresh smell of the leaves, together with the brilliant glories of the now-setting sun, as it gilded the tops of the trees, tinged the C

I was beginning to feel excessively fatigued, and not a little hungry, and my taste for the picturesque was fast giving way to a strong desire to exchange these profound solitudes for the busy haunts of No. 7.- Vol. II.

sparkling waters with crimson, and threw || me, I found the scene repeated on every

long streams of light up the avenues which intersected the surrounding oaks and elms, steeped every sense in calm delight. I thought what a happy change it would be to the imprisoned tenant of the city, reluctantly condemned to toil in dark build-|| ings for gold, to inhale the reviving air of this rustic haunt, and brace his unnerved frame in healthful exercise; and was ready to exclaim

"Under the green-wood tree,

Who loves to live with me,

And tune his merry note

Unto the sweet bird's throat,

side; sometimes sculptured in wood, at others painted on canvas, and single portraits of the stag were multiplied by artists who nearly equalled the touch of Snyders. I could not help remarking my surprise at the constant recurrence of the same subject, when the wild boar and the wolf offered so much variety.

My host smiled: "there is an incident of deep interest to our family,” said he, connected with the chase, whose memory is here perpetuated." My curiosity was now excited, and having expressed a hope that I might be indulged with a relation

Come hither! come hither! come hither! which promised to gratify my passion for

Here shall he see no enemy

the romantic traditions of his country, he courteously assured me of his willingness to comply with my request, and immediately after supper commenced his narrative.

Save winter and rough weather." The hospitable party whom I had so fortunately encountered consisted of the forest-keeper, Count Koningsfeldt, and his "My remote ancestors," said he, "deattendants. He despatched a chasseur to scended from the early kings of the north, apprize my servants of the cause of my de- were exceedingly rich and powerful; but tention, and insisted upon my spending the after a brilliant season of prosperity their night under his roof. I accepted his cour- glory began to decline, sometimes involved tesy as freely as it was freely given, and || in rebellion, at others engaged in long and after a sufficient rest we bent our steps to sanguinary wars with their rude neighthe Count's sylvan abode. It was an an-bours; the family possessions, diminished cient structure, spacious, and beautifully || by forfeiture and wrested away by consituated upon the edge of a wood. I was quest, became at length wholly inadequate much pleased with the antique appearance to the support of the dignity of so illusof its architecture, as the dark walls arose trious a descent. The only portion of the in gothic grandeur, and received the last paternal inheritance which remained to ray of the declining sun on the fretted Count Leuthold Koningsfeldt, consisted of stone-work of their decorations. The in- a tract of barren and sterile land, yielding terior was equally striking and pictorial: a scanty portion of food to the labourer's the hall and dining-room were wainscoted toil. Gloomy pine-woods alone diversified with 'oaken pannels, highly polished and the rugged aspect of the country, which richly carved; and pictures, representing for the most part was little else than a subjects taken from the chase, were sur- stony desert. Leuthold had lost his mounted with the wide-spreading antlers of parents soon after he had emerged from the buck; whilst rifles, and horns, and infancy; he spent his youth in the service powder-flasks, mingled with the relics of of his Prince, and early distinguished himancient armour, both offensive and defen- self by his valorous conduct in the field of sive, were tastefully arranged in appropriate war. Returning peace found him covered situations. The principal saloon was hung with honour, but poorer even than when with tapestry, whereon some skilful hand he had commenced his career in arms. The had wrought the death of the stag: it was splendour so becoming, and indeed necesexceedingly well delineated; the whole sary to his rank, which he had been obgroup of horses, dogs, and hunters seemed liged to maintain during his attendance to breathe; and the triumph displayed by upon the King at the court of Stockholm, the countenances and action of those who had plunged him into debt, and he sought surrounded the expiring animal, strongly the ungentle soil of his birth with the bitter indicated the brave sport which the gallant feeling resulting from a conviction that no brute had afforded. On looking around means remained to discharge the demands

against him, except the sale of these lands; opened the eyes of all parties to their reand though the idea of parting with the spective situations. The birth-day of the last acre belonging to a noble but unfortu- || fair daughter of Stalhohenberg drew near, nate race was extremely painful, the dan- and all her relations and friends were preger which existed of not being able to find paring rich gifts for the occasion. The a purchaser increased the anxiety and des- whole world appeared to have been ranpondence of his mind. His estate was sacked for baubles to please her eye and to surrounded on all sides by the dominions gratify the most exquisite tastes. The of rich nobles. Luxuriant meadow-land || silks of Persia were brought from the banks and fertile corn-fields, villages tenanted by of the Caspian sea; Siberia presented costly a hardy race of happy peasantry, and green furs; feathers and perfumes came from the hills dotted with innumerable flocks of deserts of Africa, and Araby the blest; sheep, met his gaze whenever he passed strange gorgeous birds, in gilded cages, the the boundary of his own pine-wood and productions of India; cambric and lace flinty heath. On the right dwelt the from Flanders; a lute from Italy, the land wealthy Lord of Stalhohenberg, on the left of song; and carpets and shawls from the Count Xavier of Carlstrad. He had fought Turkish loom. Valuable and beautiful, by the side of the former in many a fierce however, as these offerings were, they battle with the Muscovite, and was now a were far surpassed by the splendour of welcome guest at his castle. Adriana, the|| Count Xavier's present: he laid at her feet fair daughter of the Count, the gentlest and a sparkling coronet, wherein the ruby, the the loveliest of her sex, smiled on the war- amethyst, the topaz and the emerald, conrior. Undazzled by the jewels which shone || tended for magnificence with the diamond. upon the plumed caps and furred mantles Adriana stood in the centre of her father's of richer knights, or the proud grandeur || hall, with her sweet face lighted up with of their numerous retinue, she welcomed joy and gratitude, to receive the congratuthe plainly attired and unattended Leut-lations of her kinsfolk and friends. To the hold with frank cordiality, extended her knights and noblemen who approached hand to him in the dance, and motioned her, she gave kind smiles and gracious her maidens to make room for him when- looks; to her young female companions ever he approached the bower where she tender kisses and warm embraces. One sat, plying the busy needle and joining in gave her an embroidered scarf, wrought the song of the blythe spirits around her. with her own hand; from the others she received a fan, a rosary of amber, a musk|| ball, a bracelet of Bohemian garnets, a box of sweetmeats, a Venetian neck-chain, an ivory basket; and where was Leuthold? He, too, had a gift; but just as he was about to withdraw it from the concealment of his mantle, with an apology for its worthlessness, Xavier stepped before him, and kneeling upon one knee, placed the jewelled diadem upon the floor, and solicited its acceptance from the lady of his affections. Adriana lifted the splendid trophy from the ground, and gazed with wondering admiration upon the rich clusters of precious stones which adorned it; and Koningsfeldt, not without a sensation of shame, seized the moment to make his humble offering, in the expectation that it would be instantly cast aside and disregarded amidst the shining ornaments which had been heaped upon the queen of the day. It was a simple wreath of white

"The unhappy young man found a balm for his wounded spirit in the soothing attentions of this lovely creature. Visions of happiness sprang up in his breast. He paused not to examine the foundation upon which these sweet hopes rested, but abandoned himself to the delight of the hour, and indulged in fond anticipations of felicity, though he knew not how they were to be realized. Adriana had already a host of lovers in her train, and of these Xavier of Carlstrad was particularly favoured by her father. To him, however, she manifested coldness bordering upon aversion; yet, notwithstanding the evident marks of her indifference, he persevered in his attentions; for, vain of his person, and priding himself upon his wealth, it was long ere he perceived the slight chance which he had of success, or the preference which Adriana accorded to Count Koningsfeldt.

A circumstance soon occurred which

roses, woven by the pious nuns of a neigh- twice he stepped forward resolved to fling bouring convent. "Ah, how beautiful!" || his gauntlet in Koningsfeldt's face, and dare exclaimed Adriana, as she hastily gave the him to immediate combat. But prudence glittering gems which had so lately won her restrained him. He read the genuine effuattention to the care of an attendant, and sions of tenderness in every glance, every stretching out her hand for the flowery smile, every word of Adriana; and even garland, placed it with a glance of delight || should he prove victorious in the strife, among the silken tresses which waved over and stretch his rival, bleeding, maimed, or her brow. Every body was struck with lifeless at his feet, what could he hope the action, and with the additional love- || from one who would turn with horror liness which the chaplet of roses conferred from the destroyer of all that she held upon the fair wearer. It was the only im- dear? These reflections determined him provement which could have been made to to have recourse to less obvious, but far her dress, the most appropriate ornament more certain means to ruin the prospects and finish to flowing drapery of snowy tex- of Koningsfeldt, and send him an exile ture, edged only with a satin braid of the from the land of his birth; and, that point same spotless hue. She looked like one of accomplished, he trusted that absence Flora's nymphs; that one who, rejecting would work its usual remedy in the mind the garden's gaudy blossoms, chose by her of an individual, belonging to a sex which modest emblems to personify simplicity. he had been taught to esteem as fickle as the winds. Then the field would be open to him, and he doubted not that, a favoured object removed, his zeal, his perseve||rance, and his assiduity would win for him the prize he coveted.

"In pursuance of this plan, he approached the maid and her lover with a friendly aspect, and dexterously contrived, without appearing to attempt to supplant the envied Leuthold, to insinuate himself between him and Adriana, speaking in the most

"The eyes of the whole assembly were turned upon Count Koningsfeldt's roses, and all were loud in their praise of his taste and discrimination in the judicious selection of a birth-day gift, for one whose delicate beauty approximated so closely to that of the pure and tender flowers which crowned a brow of parian whiteness. Xavier alone felt mortified: but he dissembled his indignation at the careless indifference with which his sumptuous present had been thrown aside, and kept a watch-friendly manner to both, and at the same ful eye upon the unconscious lovers. The time effectually preventing them from conmorning was spent in wandering through versing on the subject nearest their hearts. the green wildernesses of Count Stalhohen- It was a fortunate, though diagreeable inberg's garden; Leuthold seldom quitted|| terruption. Koningsfeldt, more in love the side of Adriana, or if by chance they than ever, his spirits raised by the flattering were separated, each manifested a restless || uneasiness until they met again. In the evening there was a ball. How lightly and how gaily both flew down the dance together, and what an animated portrait did she present as she threw back her fair head, and shook the clustering curls from her temples; whilst he, encircling her slender waist with his arm, bent down his eagle eye to gaze upon her, checked the rapid movement of his feet to give her breath, and then supporting her with a firmer clasp, darted round and round as the ex-ed, convinced of each other's attachment, hilarating music struck forth a livelier strain! Carlstrad observed all this as he leaned against a pillar situated in a shadowy || corner of the illuminated hall. Twice his hand grasped the hilt of his sword, and

compliment which the loveliest maiden in Sweden had paid him, animated by the song, the dance, the blazing lights, and the sparkling of the wine cup, had nearly forgotten his poverty; and the fond intreaty that the soft white hand which he clasped in his own, might be linked for ever with his fortunes, was upon his lips, when Xavier's intrusion checked the utterance of the rash desire. No opportunity occurred at the banquet in which he could whisper his tender tale unheard, and they part

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but unbound by the mutual vow which would have engaged the honour as well as the affection of each.

"The rivals rode home apparently in cordialamity together. Already guessing